Big lotto winner from Oglesby is suing the state for not paying up

A lotto winner from Oglesby has lawyered up after being told by the state they can’t pay him his prize.

Danny Chasteen is part of a lawsuit against the Illinois Lottery. The 56-year-old won $250,000 from a scratch off back in July but still hasn’t received his winnings because the state has said because of the budget crisis they can’t pay anyone who won over $25,000.

Chasteen and co-plaintiff Rhonda Rasche of Homer Glen claim the lottery committed fraud by continuing to advertise and sell tickets for games with prizes over $25,000. The lotto winners want their money plus 5-percent interest. They are also suing to stop the lottery from being able to sell tickets to big prize games without being able to pay up.

Printing company in Peru is changing hands

Another Illinois Valley business is undergoing a change in ownership.

Co-owners of Apple Press Greg Vaccaro and Chuck Alleman are selling the Peru-based commercial printing company to Jay Endress of Peru. The company near Illinois Valley Community College has become known for making apparel, promotional products and campaign prints. Vaccaro and Alleman founded Apple Press in 1983.

With the sale Vaccaro says very few changes with the company will be made. No change in management is expected and all current Apple Press workers will keep their jobs.

Endress has experience in printing with managing the St. Bede Abbey Press.

Skate park proposed for Utica

Utica has a lot of things but its missing a skate park. That may soon change.

According to the NewsTribune, Scott Coley of Streator approached the village board about building a skate park in Utica. He says other cities have resisted the idea but Utica Trustee John Schweickert said “I’m certainly not against the idea” while Village President Matt Jereb told Coley “I’m not promising anything but we’ll work together.”

Coley doesn’t have a specific place in Utica picked out for a park. He thinks he can get a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation to help pay for the park.

The board and Coley plan to talk about the idea some more later on.

Rash of garage and car burglaries in Spring Valley

Remember to always lock up your garage and cars.

Spring Valley Police are looking for information about several recent car and garage burglaries during the early morning hours in the past month. At least two garages and at least five cars were broken into with various things stolen out of them.

If you have information, call the Spring Valley Police Department or Illinois Valley Crimestoppers. You could get a reward.

Rain totals vary from Tuesday across the Illinois Valley

What a difference a few miles can make.

According to the National Weather Service, just under an inch and a half of rain fell Tuesday in La Salle while not even two-tenths of an inch was measured in Mendota. Morris had well over an inch of rain yesterday while Ottawa, Streator, Seneca, Utica, Peru and Marseilles all had just over a half an inch.

There’s another chance of showers and storms Thursday

Walnut man facing charges in weekend hit and run that sent a boy to Peoria hospital

An arrest has been made in a hit and run that involved a six-year-old boy riding his bike in Ohio.

Michael Ringle of Walnut is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries along with failing to reduce speed and improper lane use. He’s accused of hitting a boy from Sheffield Sunday evening on Route 92, about a half mile west of Route 26.

Ringle needs a thousand dollars to be released from the Bureau County Jail. The injured boy was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Old Econo Lodge property for sale in Peru

If you’re interested in buying and developing land along Interstate 80, the city of Peru would love to hear from you.

The city now owns the old Econo Lodge near Arbys and wants the eye sore gone. City Attorney Doug Schweickert says the city would rather not be in the real estate business so their advertising the seven-acre property.

The attraction of the property is it’s at a well-traveled intersection of May Road and Route 251. The downside is forking out around $600,000 to tear down the old hotel.

Schweickert says even if the city doesn’t find a buyer, the old Econo Lodge will eventually be demolished.

Mendota City Council puts trailer park owners on notice

What kind of shape is the trailer park in where you live?

According to the NewsTribune, city officials in Mendota are calling trailer park owners to remind them of city codes. The fear is that some trailers are so run down that no one should be living in them. Alderman Walt Weiland says he became aware that some are living in “substandard conditions”.

Weiland says the city wants to help anyone living in rundown trailers by trying to find state and federal money to improve the housing conditions.

Auditor paints a not so rosy financial picture for Oglesby

Tough decisions are on the horizon for the city of Oglesby.

At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Joel Hopkins with Hopkins and Associates presented the council with its 2015 Fiscal Year audit. Last year, Oglesby finished with a deficit of around 2.5 million dollars. Since 2010, the city’s cash balances have dropped from over 6 million to about 1 million.

Hopkins suggested the city should put an operating budget in place and transfer funds around to ease the deficit. Hopkins says the city needs to either raise revenue or cut spending.

City Attorney James Andreoni says the city didn’t have many options when it came to raising revenue, pointing out that the city has maxed out its tax levy and the uncertainty of city’s share of the state income tax due to the budget impasse in Springfield.